


Lucid

by skeeterdayz



Category: Sally Face (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, M/M, Possible (?) eventual smut, Yall know i had to do a magic au, fluff at times, its a lot just read it, the gang being friends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-10-29 03:20:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17800109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skeeterdayz/pseuds/skeeterdayz
Summary: Sal Fisher is an incredibly powerful Seer, for a halfling, anyway. If it were up to him, he'd never have found out.Nockfell Insititute is a university where people like him learn to harness their powers. Maybe with the help of his new friends, this actually wouldn't be so much of a nightmare.  Sal feels there's something...off about this school, however. Who knows, maybe it's just all in his head.





	1. Over the Rose Hedge

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all!!! 
> 
> So I wasn't kidding about that Magical AU, lol. I had to, magical au's are like, my thing. I can't believe I didn't do this sooner lmao. Anyways, I'm SUPER excited to start this fic, (and yes, I will be updating both this and 302 BS simultaneously, even though it might kill me) and I hope you all like it too! I've got a lot planned so hang on for the ride lol. Sal is 19 in this and everyone else is 20. And i think (?) it's not a modern au but with the universes and everything it doesn't really matter. 
> 
> OKAY let me stop rambling. Read on my dudes!

_Sal didn't know darkness could be a full body experience._

_He sat on the ground, in the dark, empty void that his mind had created for him this time. The sound of his own shallow breaths echoed into nothingness; his field of vision only extended about four feet. Anything beyond that was engulfed in shadow._

_Sal felt alone, but not afraid. There was something oddly relaxing about having no distractions, no voices, no rustling trees, no wind, no..._

_Anything._

_The only thing Sal finally heard, were bells._

_They were quiet at first, nearly a whisper and airy like windchimes. Tinkle after tinkle, rings turned into clangs, knells into bangs._

_Suddenly, his void of silence had transformed into a loud, boisterous, cacophony of sounds. His mind raced, the air was thin, his breathing staggered. His eyes slammed shut, seeking out some amount of peace from the deafening symphony happening around him._

_This was too much. This was too much. **This was too much--**_

****

_And just like that, everything had stopped._

_He opened his eyes._

_Something had opened his eyes._

_In front of him stood a crow, gigantic and ruffling its black lustrous feathers. It looked around briefly, pecking and cocking its head in an erratic manner._

_When its red eyes fixed on Sal, he felt his heart stop._

**_“You’ve been sleeping for quite a while  now.”_ **

_Its voice--voices--were nothing like he’d ever heard before. They spoke in broken unison, like a choir with no conductor._

**_“You should wake up before you get lost in here, Salvatore.”_ **

 

“Sal! Wake up, bud.”

 

Sal nearly gasped as he snapped awake. His head collided with the glass of the car window, and he clutched his prosthetic in pain.

 

“Ow--fuck.”

 

“Language, kiddo.”

 

“Sorry.” He sat up in his seat, slipping his fingers underneath to rub the spot in the most pain. “God, I hate visions that mess with my senses.”

 

“Oh, I know that feeling,” Henry replied, offering a smile. “It can be pretty jarring, but it means your powers are getting stronger.”

 

“You say that like it’s a good thing.”

 

“It can be, depending on how you look at it.”

 

“Well, I don’t even know what that one was trying to tell me.”

 

Henry shrugged, looking over at him. “It could’ve just been a regular old dream.”

 

“I haven’t had a normal dream in years, dad.”

 

“Hm.” Henry murmured. “You’re coming into your prime faster than I did.”

 

Sal narrowed his eyes. “Is that your way of saying I’m getting old?”

 

His father waved dismissively. “Please. If you’re old, then I’m ancient. I meant your powers are maturing at a quicker rate than normal.”

 

“To be fair, you are kind of ancient.” Sal put in, earning a glare. “What? By human standards, aren’t you like, three hundred years old?”

 

“By our standards, I’m barely fifty.”

 

Sal sat back in his seat, earning a side-eyed look from his father.

 

“What?”

 

“‘Our’” He mumbled. “You say that like I know anything at all about Azumel at all.”

 

“It’s your heritage--”

 

“It’s _your_ heritage, dad. I grew up here,” Sal gestured around to the trees passing their car. “In Nowheresville, New Jersey.”

 

“Well, this is why I think it’s a good idea for you to go Nockfell Institute.” Henry veered off onto a dirt path. “This way you can finally learn about the magical world and how to use your gifts.”

 

That struck a chord deep in Sal’s mind. He let out a heavy sigh, and folded his arms across his chest. “I could’ve started learning a lot sooner if you didn’t make me forget everything.”

 

The air in the car suddenly became thick and heavy with tension. Henry swallowed a  lump in his throat as Sal kept his eyes fixed on the windshield. They were doing this again.

 

“....You know I did it to protect you, Sal, we’ve been over this.”

 

“Yeah, well? Forgive me for not thinking that’s the best excuse.”

 

“It may not be now, but--”

 

“I don’t think it was back then, either.” Sal interrupted. “I understand that you just wanted to shelter me from all the bullshit that comes with being a seer but--now I’ve had to learn all the things I should’ve been learning for eighteen years at once.” His voice wavered. “Let me tell you, I feel like grappling with the idea that I can _see_ when people are about to die would’ve been a lot easier had I had more time to process it.”

 

Henry stayed silent for a minute, his lips tight and eyes focused on the road. This conversation never ended well. They’d had it time and time again since Sal’s eighteenth birthday, and every time they’d never see eye to eye. Sometimes he would yell, and sometimes it’d be Sal. There’d been nights were Sal came home, slamming doors and screaming because he’d seen too _much_ that day. He wasn’t open to suggestions, he didn’t want Henry to coddle him and tell him it would get easier, he just wanted to _scream._

 

It was too much for someone to process in one year, and Henry learned that the hard way.

 

“If I had known the binding spell would break when you were eighteen, I wouldn’t have done it.”

 

Sal had settled so deeply into the silence that his father’s voice surprised him. He didn’t turn to look at him. Instead, he started fiddling with his gloves. 

 

“I know nothing can make up for how hard this year has been on you, but,” Henry looked over at him. “I’m trying to make things better going forward, and I’m hoping you’ll let me.”

 

Sal stayed silent, and Henry took it as his cue to drop the subject. Maybe Sal would come around in a month when they’d fought about it again, or maybe when he actually _saw_ Nockfell Institute and learned about all the wonders in harbored within its ancient brick walls.

 

All Henry could do at this point was hope.

 

After a few silent minutes of driving, he finally put the car in park along a small enclave in the dirt path. Sal sat up in his seat, glancing around the wall of trees that surrounded their car.

 

“Are we here?”

 

“Almost.” Henry went to unlock both their doors, to which they stepped out of the car. “It’s about a five-minute walk to that rose hedge.”

 

Sal furrowed his brow. “Rose hedge? What rose hedge--”

 

His eyes went wide as he looked dead ahead.

 

 _That_ rose hedge.

 

It seemed as if it had appeared out of thin air, but Sal’s eyes laid transfixed on the monumental wall of thorns and roses that shot up in front of them. It had to be at least twenty feet tall; it was threaded with brilliantly blue roses that glistened like stars.

 

How the hell had Sal missed that?

 

“Was...was that there before?”

 

“Probably not.” Henry popped the trunk of the car, stepping over fallen branches to begin removing Sal’s bags from it. “It only shows itself when it knows Azumeli are around.”

 

Sal didn’t know what to say. He looked back at the hedge, still in awe.

 

If Nockfell had more tricks like this up its sleeve, then he was in for a wild ride.

 

Sal flinched when his father handed him two of the bags from the trunk, slamming it with a loud clang. Henry wasted no time throwing Sal’s duffle bag over his shoulder and starting towards the towering hedge. Sal shook himself out of his state of wonder and clutched his bags as he followed close behind.

 

“How does this all work again?” He asked. “I’m not sure I understand. Like, we’re gonna walk up to this hedge and there’s gonna be some random portal there, or--”

 

“They’re called _gates_ , Sal.”

 

“Gate. Some random gate.”

 

 “No.” Henry shook his head. “You weren’t listening when we talked about this earlier, were you?”

 

Sal shrugged. “I might have been dozing off.”

 

His father let out what Sal took as a noise of frustration, but decided not to let it get to him.

 

“It’s not a physical gate. Gates are energy fields, where the veil is the thinnest.”

 

“Right....’the veil’.” Sal trailed off, hoping Henry would pick up on his confusion.

 

“The barrier between this world and ours.”

 

“Ah, yeah.” He tapped his prosthetic. “Now I remember.”

 

“Of course you do.” Henry rolled his eyes. “This rose hedge is a gate. Someone should be waiting for us when we finally get to it.”

 

“‘Waiting for us’?” Sal asked. “We can’t just walk through?”

 

“No, of course not.” Henry scoffed. “Seers can’t open gates. Only Mages can.”

 

Sal nodded. Right, because he was supposed to know this already.

 

They spent the next five minutes stumbling over leaves and logs before they finally came face to face with the hedge, and Sal wanted to tack another ten feet onto his previous estimate of twenty. The hedge was _enormous,_ and he felt that if he got to close, it would swallow him whole.

 

He momentarily set down his bags as Henry removed something small and golden from his pocket. Sal deadpanned.

 

“Since when did you have a pocket watch?”

 

“Technology doesn’t work in Azumel.” Henry chided him. “You left your phone in the car, right?”

 

Sal grimaced. “Yeah. I did.”

 

“Believe me, Sal, there’s more than enough to keep you occupied in our world.”

 

“Of course there is, Dad.”

 

Henry did pay much attention to Sal’s last statement. He looked down at his watch, and back up at the hedge, his head scanning from side to side.

 

“Someone should be here by now--”

 

“Hello!”

 

They both turned their heads to stare down the right side of the hedge, nearly spooked to see a woman’s torso poking out from the tangled leaves. She waved them closer, pleasantly extending her hand they approached.

 

“Hi there! You must be Henry and Sal.” She beamed. “My name is Lisa, Headmaster Addison asked me to escort you two through the gate.”

 

“You would be correct, Ms. Lisa.” Henry smiled, shaking her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

 

“Likewise.” Lisa extended her hand to Sal as well, who hesitantly shook it. “I’m assuming you’re the student here?”

 

“Uh, yeah.” Sal nodded. “That’s me.”

 

“Sounds great.” She smiled. “You’ve never been to Azumel, have you?” Sal shook his head, and she continued. “Well then, I think you’re gonna be in for a treat. Would you care to follow me?”

 

Sal looked up at his father, who returned his gaze, urging him to respond for himself. He cleared his throat and picked his bags up from the ground. Blue strands of hair bobbed in his face as he nodded at Lisa.

 

“Lead the way.”

 

Lisa grinned and gestured behind her. “It would be my pleasure.”

 


	2. Glimmers of Amethyst

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof you guys this chapter was a doozy to write. 
> 
> That being said however, I really did enjoy doing it! It's rare that in my fics i get to be this descriptive and it was fun to try and paint this universe for you all. I just hope that youre ready for a really imagery heavy chapter lol. 
> 
> Anyways, thanks for reading and I hope yall like it!

Interdimensional travel was something Sal realized he didn’t like.

 

He couldn’t put the feeling into words, but having your atoms scrambled cross two different planes at once just _wasn’t_ fun.

 

The next tangible thing that Sal remembered feeling was gravel and sand underneath his knees. The gate practically threw him out into Azumel; he tumbled forward onto the cold, scratchy ground and prayed that his legs weren’t scraped from the brutal impact.

 

Once the initial sting of stone in his skin subsided, Sal opened his eyes. He’d closed them during the....warp? Teleport? He wasn’t even sure what to call it, but he knew the moment he’d stepped into those blinding multicolored lights, it was best to close his one good eye before that got blinded too.

 

The feeling that came over Sal when he finally saw what was around him was something indescribable. He wasn’t sure what Azumel would even look like; his father had given him some vague idea, but nothing compared to what was actually in front of him.

 

They’d landed on a beach. Sal felt the wet sand crumble underneath his fingers as he finally climbed to his feet. Misty ocean wind tickled his neck and ears as he turned to take in his surroundings. The beach was peppered with strange, dusty green plants. He would’ve compared them to some of the succulents he’d kept back at home had they not been so _gigantic;_ towering even. Footsteps crunched over gravel and sand as Sal heard his father and Lisa approach him. He turned on his feet to see a warm smile on both their faces.

 

“You’ll get used to that eventually.” Lisa pushed a stray lock of umber hair out of her eyes. “Inter-realm travel is always hard on first-timers.”

 

“I remember the first time I ever left Azumel,” Henry added, chuckling softly. “Landed flat on my face, right on a pile of broken twigs.”

 

“Well, I hope I get better at it by the next time.” Sal peered up into the sky as a piercing cry struck down like thunder. He stared, mouth agape and eyes wide. “ _What is_ _that?!”_

Lisa and Henry followed Sal’s gaze, laying eyes on an orange, peacock-like bird as it soared across the sky.

 

“Oh, that’s a firebird,” Lisa replied, cupping her hand over her eyes. “They like the ocean, so they tend to fly through Nockfell a lot.”

 

Sal could’ve stood for hours watching this firecracker of a bird whisp around the sky. It dove behind clouds and cried out every few moments, sending a chill down his spine every time. Sal followed it as it looped around a few more times before soaring over to the top of a building, finding it’s perch on a particularly rocky rooftop. He blinked.

 

Wait, how the hell had he missed that?

 

“Is...is that...?”

 

“Yes sir.” Lisa placed a gentle hand on Sal’s shoulder, smiling as she looked up. “That there is Nockfell Institute.”

 

Sal hadn’t even realized that there had definitely been a temporal shift between his world and Azumel. They’d left the forest in broad daylight and now he’d been thrust into near dusk as purple and violet hues painted the sky. The beach led up to the start of what Sal could only compare to a mountain; Victorian-style buildings peppered the base and wound upwards to the part that truly amazed him.

 

On top sat a monolithic castle that looked like something out of a fairy tale. He’d only ever seen buildings like this in history textbooks; it was as if someone had crammed two or three gothic cathedrals onto a mountain top and called it a day. The castle dripped with orange flickering lights that lit up against the lavender sunset, and Sal realized, he’d honestly never seen anything this beautiful in his life.

 

“Holy crap.” Sal finally let out, turning back to look back at them. “Dad, you never said Nockfell looked this incredible.”

 

“I beg to differ, kiddo.” Henry retorted. “Maybe you were just dozing off again while I did.”

 

“Oh, there’s a lot more to see, Sal.” Lisa started forward on the sand, her pace set towards the castle. “It might have to wait until tomorrow, however. It’s starting to get late here and we should probably get you moved in and squared away before the dining hall opens for dinner.”

 

“Right, right.” Henry started after Lisa, and Sal took that as his cue to follow suit. “There’s a few more paperwork-related things to take care of, right? We’re still not even sure who Sal’s dormmate is supposed to be.”

 

 “I was able to have a hand in that, actually.”  Lisa looked back over her shoulder, the misty wind blowing her hair. “When you told me Sal had never been to Nockfell I thought it’d be best for him to stay with someone who knows the ropes pretty well.”

 

“You know who I’m rooming with?” Sal asked, trying his best to nudge their way into their conversation.

 

“That I do.” She replied. “My son, Larry.”

 

Sal blinked. That was...fine? He guessed? He wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or not. Maybe it was better than being paired up with someone completely random.

 

“Oh? Okay.”

 

“He’s a great guy, I promise,” Lisa affirmed. “We’ve spent a long time here around Nockfell, I’ve worked under Addison for about ten years now. Heck, Larry used to tag along with me to work and explore on his own when he little. I’m sure he probably knows the campus better than I do at this point.”

 

“He sounds like a good kid.” Henry said, looking down at Sal as they came to a stepping stone path. “Pretty explorative, too. Seems like you two might get along well, Sal.”

 

“Yeah, I um, I think so.” Sal paused. “Is he a mage like you, Lisa?”

 

“Oh no, no. Well, not really, he’s got some mage genes, but doesn’t really use them.” She replied, stepping carefully on a particularly slimy looking rock. “His father’s genes were pretty dominant. He’s an angel, both literally and figuratively.”

 

Aw. Sal’s heart warmed at that. Lisa really did care for her son, and that kind of unconditional love was refreshing, to say the least.

 

“An angel? Like, with wings and a halo and stuff ?”

 

Henry scoffed. “Sal, humans’ interpretations of angels are a bit different from how they actually are.”

 

“Well, he’s not entirely wrong.” She admitted. “Angels do have wings, but Larry hasn’t gotten his yet. He’s always been a late bloomer.”

 

Sal wracked his brain. “Hadn’t gotten his yet”? What, were wings like chest hair or something?

 

“Mhmm.” He said, pretending as if he definitely knew this already. “Well, he sounds like a great guy. I’m excited to meet him.”

 

“Oh, I think you two’ll get along just swell.” Lisa turned to face the two of them. She looked up towards the top of the castle, and back down to meet their gaze. They’d reached a particularly steep part of the campus foundation and she held her hand out, urging them to stop. “Alright, this is about where can stop walking.”

 

Sal’s eyes traveled up the rocky hillside. “Uh, are we going up there?”

 

Lisa nodded, a coy smile spreading across her face. She held her hands in the air and her purple bell sleeves fell towards her shoulders. A faint lavender light formed in both her palms as she took a deep breath.

 

_“Azarah sāla nōtē o girōl.”_

Sal nearly jumped out of his skin as the ground below them began to shake. He clung to his father, not caring if he dropped or damaged any of the bags in his hand. With little effort, the flat rock beneath them cracked and shook itself from its place within the bedrock. Before Sal could even process that the ground had just starting _levitating,_ Lisa spoke up again.

 

“Hold on tight, sweetheart.”

 

And just like that, they were off.

 

* * *

 

 

Sal realized he not only hated interdimensional travel, but he also hated whatever the hell Lisa had done to get them up to the dormitory level.

 

He respected her as a seasoned witch and her clearly fine-tuned abilities, but dear _god._ At two hundred feet in the air, Sal thought he might faint and plummet full speed into the ocean.

 

The moment they landed on stable ground, he nearly threw himself off the rock. He basked in every second he had to appreciate that he wasn’t soaring through the air at forty miles an hour. Henry and Lisa stepped off without a care in the world, getting a good laugh out of Sal’s near meltdown.

 

Lisa helped him pick up his bags and implored the two of them to follow her down the cobblestone path they’d landed on, to which Sal hurriedly obliged.  Her boots clacked against the pebble as she guided them towards a particularly dilapidated building. It reminded Sal of the old churches he’d see passing through rural parts of New Jersey, clearly built with care, but not up kept with it. As they approached the worn out stone building, Sal could see something etched into the sign outside of it.

 

**_“miserum īnderē_ **

**_Miserum Hall”_ **

 

He frowned. He knew in his heart that he probably was going to have to start learning to read Azumeli soon, and all this did was confirm his suspicions.

 

Lisa guided them through heavy, towering wooden doors as they entered the Hall. While she and Henry spoke with the centaur at the Residential Life desk, Sal spent the majority of the time just _walking_ around the foyer and staring at the wonders it held. Single blue flames hovered aimlessly around the vaulted ceilings and he wondered how this wasn’t a constant fire hazard. He hadn’t even realized how much had time had passed before Henry and Lisa had walked back over to him, parchments of paperwork and a single wooden “student ID” card in hand.

 

Miserum Hall apparently didn’t have any elevators, which made Sal grimace internally. Luckily, however, once Lisa had guided them up to what was apparently his new dorm, he was thankful that it only ended up being about two floors up. The room that they’d come to bore a door that was plastered with posters, one of them being a “KEEP OUT” plaque that had obviously been stolen from somewhere on campus.

 

Lisa rapped gently on the wood. “Larbear? Are you decent? Your new roommate Sal is here.”

 

Sal giggled. “Larbear”. It was cute.

 

A muffled voice sounded from behind the door. “Yeah, just gimme a second.”

 

A few shuffles and bumps later, a tall, gangly figure appeared in the now open doorway. His wavy, brunet hair had been gathered in a messy bun and his oversized tan shirt nearly fit him like a dress. He was standing barefoot in what Sal assumed had to be some sort form of boxers; bright red ones at that. Sal studied the lines and curves of his pallid face. He had the cheekbones of a supermodel, but the eyebrows of a bear and the dark circles of a raccoon.

 

This...this was Larry, apparently. And he sure had made a lasting first impression.

 

 _“Larry.”_ Lisa scolded. “I asked if you were decent.”

 

Larry furrowed his brows. “What? It’s not like I’m naked.”

 

She rolled her eyes and turned to Henry and Sal. “I promise he’s more normal than this might appear.”

 

Larry seemed to brush off that comment and instead focus his attention on Sal. They shared a moment of awkward silence before Larry finally offered his hand.

 

“My mom said your name was Sal, right?” He asked, smiling warmly. “I’m Larry. Or Larbear, or Lawrence. Depending on who you talk to.”

 

Sal hesitated, but eventually accepted his handshake. “I’ll go with Larry, if that’s okay.”

 

“By all means, my man.” He stepped aside from the doorway, gesturing widely to the inside of the dorm. “Welcome to Casa de Larry. Well, Casa de Larry and Sal, now. I guess.”

 

Sal took that as his cue to finally step into the dorm, to which he was met with the immediate warmth of a burning fireplace. He set his bags down as he walked towards the center of the room. This was _big,_ especially for a college dorm room. Slash that, this was essentially a _hotel_ room. Two full beds? With thick, gold, expensive looking duvets on top of that?

 

Where the hell was he? Harvard?

 

“Dude...” Sal sat down on the unoccupied bed. “This...this is _insane._ This is like, the nicest dorm room I’ve ever seen in my life.”

 

Larry walked over towards the adjacent bed, smiling triumphantly as he plopped down. “Pretty sweet, right? Gotta thank my Mom for that. She’s the one that’s got the hookup.”

 

Sal looked over at Lisa as she and Henry walked into the room.

 

“Addison considered it the least he could do knowing how many years I’ve put into these old walls.” She rested a hand on the brick fireplace. “Larbear got stuck in a cramped little three roommate-dorm last year, all the way out in the boondocks of the school. I tried my best to give him a little more help this go round.”

 

Larry flopped back onto his bed, spreading out like a starfish on the comforter. “Your efforts are _highly_ appreciated!”

 

Sal let his torso fall back onto his as well, and god. He could’ve taken a nap right then and there. A person would think with the decrepit state of the building that the interior would reflect that, but no. He was more than satisfied with his current set up.

 

“So what’s your story, Salio?” Larry pulled himself back up. “Are you like, a wizard, or a mermaid or something like that?”

 

Sal sat up again as well, instinctively tugging at his gloves at the mention of his powers. “I’m...a seer. Actually. Well, half seer, technically.”

 

“Ohhh right, right. You’re half human, right? You lived on Earth before all this?”

 

“Sure did.” Sal gave a fake gesture of enthusiasm. “Trenton, New Jersey.”

 

“Heh, ‘New Jersey’.” Larry laughed. “That’s such a weird name.”

 

“Miserum Hall is pretty weird too, if you ask me.”

 

“Touche, little dude. Touche.”  Larry stood from the bed, stretching his arms high above his head. “Well, if you need any help unpacking, I’d be glad to help. Y’should wait till after dinner, though. You probably won’t finish if you start now.”

 

Sal went to his pocket for his phone and grimaced when he realized it wasn’t there. He really had no sense of time in this realm and it was starting to get to him. Had that much time passed since they’d gotten to Azumel in the first place? It felt like Lisa had only mentioned dinner not too long ago.

 

“Oh, drat.”

 

Sal turned to see Lisa staring down at a silver pocket watch. Jesus, did everyone in this realm just have a goddamn pocket watch on hand?

 

“Looks like we may have spent more time getting your paperwork together than we’d thought.” She tucked it back into her skirt. “This might have to wait until tomorrow morning.”

 

“Are you sure?” Henry spoke up, his voice laced with concern. “I wanted to be here to help Sal get settled in, but I can’t stay the night--”

 

“Dad, I’m nineteen.” Sal cut in, calling both their attention. “I think I can manage on my own. Besides. Larry and Lisa will be here to help, right?”

 

Lisa nodded and Larry flashed a thumbs up, forcing Henry to swallow heavily as he realized things more than likely weren’t going in his favor. With a nervous hand, he ruffled his balding blue hair.

 

“Well...I guess if you think you’ll be alright--”

 

“He’ll be fine, Henry.” Lisa placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “He’s in good hands. I’ll be there in case Sal has any burning questions. And so will Larry, right?”

 

She gave him a pointed look, to which he gave an extra thumbs up. “Of course. I’ll be the best tour guide I could possibly be.”

 

Henry remained silent for a moment, marinating on his response before he decided to omit his initial choice. He flashed a weak smile and unknowingly gave in.

 

“Awesome. I’ll let you get settled in then.”

 

There was a hint of hurt in his voice that Sal tried his best to ignore. Luckily, before his soft side could convince him to speak up, Lisa had begun guiding Henry back towards the door.

 

“I’ll help you get back through the gate.” She looked back at her son. “Larry? You can show Sal where the dining hall is?”

 

“Most definitely.” He sang back, flashing a wide, cheesy grin. “Like you said, Sal’s in good hands.”

 

Both Lisa and Henry said their goodbyes and just as quickly as they had entered, they were gone. The door closed behind them and suddenly Sal felt a wave of nervousness wash over him. Why was he nervous? There shouldn’t have been a reason for him to be. Larry seemed like a really nice guy, why was he suddenly freaking out when he’d been fine just a few minutes ago?

 

Larry hesitated before breaking the silence that had settled.

 

“I like your mask, by the way.” He said, recapturing Sal’s attention. “And the gloves. The felts really cool looking.”

 

“It’s a prosthetic, actually.” Sal blinked. “Well, this is.” He gestured to his face. “The gloves are just for sensory blocking.”

 

“Oh, my bad dude. Sorry about that.” Larry apologized. “What’s sensory blocking, though?”

 

“Oh, um.” Sal racked his brain. “The majority of my visions are triggered through touch, so I wear these just so I don’t get too overwhelmed.”

 

 “Why do you need to block your senses though? Isn’t that the whole point of being a seer?”

 

“I mean, yeah it is. But..” Sal trailed off. “I guess you could say my powers are pretty...sensitive. I’ve only really had a year to figure out how to deal with them on my own. I can’t really control when and where I have visions. It can be pretty jarring if you’re just trying to get through your day and can't touch something without getting a vision.”

 

“Hm.” Larry nodded at that, slowly understanding. “I get that. I’d probably do the same thing if my powers were that trigger happy.”

 

Sal paused before speaking again. “If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly _are_ your powers? Lisa told me your an angel and all, but to be fair, you don’t exactly look like one.”

 

He’d regretted that the moment it left his mouth. It had come off a lot more abrasive than Sal had planned. Luckily, however, his poor phrasing didn’t seem to phase Larry.

 

“I mean, when I get my wings I’ll be able to fly and stuff.” He replied, rubbing his neck tensely. “But as of right now, I can shapeshift along with a couple other things.”

 

Sal raised his eyebrows. “Oh shit, really?”

 

“Yeah, but I’m not _super_ good at it if I’m being honest” Larry grinned. “I am pretty good at illusion magic though!”

 

“.....Care to elaborate on what that is?” Sal asked. “I’m from the human world, remember? I don’t know a lot about all this stuff.”

 

Larry thought for a minute. “Can I show you? That’d probably be easier than trying to explain it.”

 

“Uh, yeah. Totally. Go right ahead.”

 

Sal watched as Larry sat back on the bed, pulling his legs into a crossed position as he brought his fingertips together. He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply, focusing all his energy on whatever spectacle he was about to put on for Sal. Slowly, a faint white glow formed in the palms of his hands, and Sal felt a tickle at his ear as he turned to see the culprit.

 

A butterfly.

 

A brilliantly purple butterfly had landed on his shoulder, its wings glimmering like amethyst in a deep earthen cavern. Sal brought his hand up to let it climb onto his finger, and it was then that he noticed another butterfly floating by, and then _another._

In almost an instant, their once empty dorm now twinkled with purple and pink hues. A few landed in his hair and a few more on his thighs, and Sal looked on in absolute awe.

 

 This was nothing like he’d ever seen before.

 

Larry finally opened his eyes, only to smile when he saw what he’d created.

 

“Dude, holy shit.” Sal watched one fly over to land on his palm. “This is incredible. I feel like I’m in a fairytale.” He said. “Are...are they real?”

 

Larry shook his head. “Nah, just a mirage.”

 

 With one swift snap, each of the butterflies faded into mist. Sal almost felt sad watching such a beautiful display come to such an abrupt end.

 

“Welcome to Nockfell.” Larry chuckled. “If you think that was cool, just wait till you see what my other friends can do.”

 

Sal perked up at that. He was a bit annoyed to admit that Henry had been right about Nockfell being awe-inspiring. However, he knew that if this was just the tip of the iceberg, then he definitely couldn’t wait to see what else it had in store for him.

 

“Are they angels like you?”

 

“Oh definitely not. Todd’s a wizard and Ash is....well. Ash is a hybrid like me, but she can do some pretty cool shit with water and fire. You can probably see for yourself when we head down for dinner.”

 

Sal blinked. _Dinner._ He’d completely forgotten about dinner.

 

“Right. We should probably start heading to that, shouldn’t we?”

 

Larry pulled himself off his bed. “You would be correct, dearest Salio.” He went over to a pile of clothes in his corner of the room. “Just let me throw some pants on and I’d be happy to accompany you there.”

 

Sal chuckled. “Take your time, o’ mighty Master of Illusion.”

 

Larry looked back over his shoulder, a smile pulling at his lips. “Hmm..I like the sound of that. Makes me feel important, like a prince or something.”

 

Sal let out a louder laugh at that, and took solace in the sense of comfort that finally washed over him. Sure, he’d just met Larry, but for some reason, he felt...at home. Comfortable. Something he hadn’t felt in a really long time.

 

He was gonna hold onto that feeling, grip it by the horns and never let go.

 

At least, not if he had a choice.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smash that mf like if ur still here partner
> 
> No fr tho, I'm like pretty much past the background info at this point so things should start to pick up from here!
> 
> Let me know what you think and drop a kudo if youre feelin fancy!
> 
> Thanks again for reading!


	3. Purple Tidepools

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all!! 
> 
> I don't really have much to say here except thank you to those who left a comment on the last chapter!! I'm really excited to post this update, so I'm not gonna ramble.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Are you ready?”

 

“Yeah dude, let me see.”

 

“Are you sure? Because this might just blow your mind, little dude.”

 

“Then show me already! I wanna see just how good you are with this illusion stuff.”

 

There were a few shuffles, the sound of sand shifting under bare feet, and a sudden bone-chilling roar.

 

“Okay, open your eyes.”

 

Sal let his eyes fall open.

 

And he burst into laughter.

 

Larry stumbled in the sand as he walked around to Sal’s side, pouting as his roommate broke down in hysterics.

 

“What? Come on, dude, that looks just like the picture you showed me!”

 

“Larry-- _Larry--”_ Sal tried his best to get himself together. “It’s fucking _tiny!”_

Larry looked forward at his creation, and then back at Sal. “Are they bigger than that?”

 

“Yes, Larry. Tigers are a lot bigger than that.”

 

This was something they’d been trying for the past few days. There had been a little less than a week before classes actually began, and while Sal was excited to explore the campus, a lot of the areas Larry had wanted to show him were still closed off until the first day. That being the case, they’d settled on more attainable ways of entertaining themselves for the remaining days.

 

Hiking down to the beach and dicking around with their powers.

 

Larry padded back over to his small creation, squatting next to it as he brought a hand to its fur. “In my defense, you never said tiggers--”

 

“ _Tigers._ ”

 

“Tigers--” He corrected. “Were big. They look like, fox-sized in that picture.”

 

“Part of the challenge was to see how much you could get right on your own.” Sal finally joined Larry next to the creature, smiling as it’s dull teeth nipped at his gloves. “Everything else is spot on. You were just off by a couple feet.”

 

“Well, I think I should still get points for that.” He finally snapped his fingers, letting the tiger disperse into a cloud of white, glowing dust. “They do sound pretty awesome though. Maybe one day you could show me in the human world.”

 

Sal scoffed. “Dude, there aren’t just tigers running around New Jersey. They’re like, in zoos or on safaris and shit.”

 

“....’zoo’? What’s a ‘zoo’?”

 

Sal blinked beneath his mask. This happened a lot during their conversations, and it often made him realize just how different Azumel was from the human world. He would go off on tangents about typical everyday things that seemed like second nature to him, and It would take Sal minutes of blank staring from Larry for him to realize he had no idea what he was talking about.

 

“Oh, um...” Sal racked his brain. “A zoo is like...a place where they keep a bunch of exotic animals and stuff, so people who aren’t from those areas can see what they look like in real life.”

 

They were both sitting in the sand now, watching the lavender tide wane in and out.

 

“Whoa, that sounds dope.” Larry beamed. “And they can all just run around and shit?”

 

“Oh, well, no.” Sal answered. “They keep them in cages and enclosures for everyone’s safety.”

 

Larry frowned at that, carding his hand through his hair. “Well, that’s kinda fucked up. I mean, if I were some tiger running around a safari or whatever you said, I’d be pretty pissed if someone just snatched me from my home and put me in a cage for no reason.”

 

“...Well, if you put it like that then yeah, I guess it is kinda fucked up.”

 

Larry shrugged as he fell back against the sand, twinkling grains tangling in his hair. “You’d be surprised with the shit you see running around Nockfell. Not even just on land. There’s freaky shit in the water too.”

 

“Freakier than that firebird I saw flying around my first day here?”

 

Larry turned his head. “Oh, _definitely.”_ He stumbled back to his feet, sliding in the sand as he offered Sal his hand. “C’mon, I’ll show you.”

 

Sal hesitated, thinking hard on whether not he was emotionally ready for whatever Larry was about to show him. He settled on yes, he was. He might as well start getting used to the nightmare fuel that walked around Azumel. Larry pulled Sal up from the sand and helped him to his feet. Not long after they were walking further down the shore, climbing out on rocks that Sal felt were a bit too slippery to be safe. He pushed those feelings down, however, hoping that Larry knew what he was doing.

 

Once Larry found his footing, he crouched over a particularly purple tide pool, his eyes searching the water for something Sal wasn’t sure off.

 

Suddenly, his hand dove below the surface of the water and ripped something from its depths that nearly sent Sal reeling as he stumbled back.

 

In his hand Larry held a yellow, leathery starfish-like creature, squirming about as if it would lash out at any given moment. It had twelve too many arms and reminded Sal more of something out of a video game rather than real life.

 

Larry let the creature settle in his hand for a moment before it let out a faint blue glow. Almost out of nowhere, he howled; he threw his head back as he cackled into the wind. Sal stood back, staring in horror as he laughed at absolutely nothing. What was going on? What the _fuck_ was happening—

 

As quickly as it began, it was over. Larry came down in an instant, and he exhaled as he extended his hand out to sal.

 

“Here, touch it.”

 

“Excuse me?” Sal looked incredulously at him. “What the _fuck_ was that? You looked possessed.”

 

“Relax, these little guys are called ‘jushtēū’. I think it translates to like, “joy” in your language.” Larry explained. “ If you take them outta water, they release this weird blue light that makes you super happy and giggly. It only lasts a few seconds, though.”

 

He still held the small creature out in Sal’s face, urging him to at least give it the time of day. Sal swallowed, but hesitantly pulled one of his gloves off while moving closer. The moment his fingertips grazed its slimy skin, he recoiled, feeling a chill of disgust shoot down his entire spine. That must have been enough, however, because the next thing Sal knew, he was snickering uncontrollably. He held his sides as Larry looked on, watching excitedly as he nearly collapsed from laughter.

 

“See! Isn’t it fun, dude?” 

 

Larry was right, he came down almost immediately and Sal blinked. That was weird. A good kind of weird, but weird.

 

“That was insane.” Sal straightened his stance. “It’s like if weed went straight to my fucking heart.”

 

“Y’know Sally, that's the one human-world thing you’ve mentioned today that I actually understand.” Larry grinned. “You think earth weed is cool? Wait till you try zelēyulā.”

 

“Zelly-What?”

 

“It’s called lazy-leaf in English.” Larry paused for a moment, looking towards the sky for an answer. “I think I still have a little left in our dorm too. If ya want, we could take a little after lunch just to go out with a bang.”

 

Sal stayed quiet. He was already reeling from one little prick from this starfish creature or whatever Larry’d called it. He was almost _afraid_ of what would happen if he took some sort of unknown magical drug. Would he even have a good trip? Would he even take it right? What if he threw up? That would be embarrassing, especially in front of a new roommate—

 

“It’s fine if you don’t.” Larry’s voice snapped him out of his trance. “I was just offering.”

 

“Uh...no. No I think I want to.” Sal cleared his throat. “I was just thinking about my day, making sure I didn’t have anything important to do later, y’know?”

 

“Ah Yeah. That’s probably a good thing to do. Lazy leaf ‘ll have you fucked up for hours—“

 

Larry ate his words as a wave crashed a bit too powerfully at his feet. His legs shot forward as he fell straight back, nearly shrieking as he lost his footing. Sal acted out of pure instinct, and tried his best not to go tumbling with him as he grabbed his hand.

 

And just like that, the ocean surrounding them dissolved.

 

_Flashing lights bathed Sal’s face._

_His bare face. He wasn’t wearing his prosthetic._

_He wasn’t even sitting up straight, from what he could gather. He was lying down, staring up at something bright and colorful as it spun lazily around his field of vision. Everything was bathed in an ivory glow, and Sal quickly realized he was seeing through the eyes of a baby._

_His eyes shifted to the corner of his crib as Lisa’s tender face leaned over into it, cooing and cuddling at him with a much younger appearance. Gurgles and giggles left his mouth before Lisa smiled again, reaching to lift him from the pillows._

 

_“That’s my sweet little Larbear.”_

In an instant, the white memory cracked and shattered back into the thrashing ocean around them. He was still gripping Larry’s arm, but everything had unpaused just a little bit too quickly. Overwhelmed by everything taking place, he accidentally _let go._

Larry yelped as he tumbled into the waves. Sal hadn’t quite regained his footing either, however, because not even a second later he’d gone face-first in after him.

 

Gulps of brackish water sloshed underneath his mask as Larry finally grabbed his sleeve, dragging them both towards a stray rock jutting out from the waves. The two coughed as they struggled to climb onto it, heaving breaths of air assaulting their lungs and throat.

 

“Fuck—“ Larry let out a loud cough. “I’m so fucking sorry dude—I forgot you took your glove off—“

 

“It’s fine.” Sal cleared the water from his throat. “I didn’t see anything traumatizing anyway.”

 

“What...what did you see? If it’s okay to ask.” Sal looked over at Larry and he chuckled nervously. “Not that I have y'know, a bunch to hide—but.....”

 

“Don’t worry, I didn’t see you jerking off or anything like that.” Larry breathed a sigh of relief that only made Sal snicker. “Gross, dude.”

 

“What? I don’t know how your powers work.”

 

“True, But it’s not like I can just snoop around in your head.” Sal clarified. “Believe me, I’ve tried. I can only see what your subconscious _wants_ to tell me.”

 

“Huh. Interesting.” Larry said. “I guess all powers do kinda have a learning curve, huh?”

 

“Pretty much.” Sal breathed. “I think I saw one of your early memories. I mean like, one you wouldn’t even remember by this point.”

 

He perked up. “Whoa, really?”

 

Sal nodded. “You were a baby. All I saw was a mobile spinning in the air and your mom playing with you from outside your crib.” He shrugged. “I’m not sure why your subconscious decided to tell me that, but hey. At least it wasn’t something embarrassing.”

 

Larry seemed to settle down at that. He took a deep breath and coughed up any last remnants of seawater in his chest. He leaned onto his elbows as his feet hung over the side of the rock, slowly tickled by the rising waves. 

 

“Well. It must have been nice to be a responsibility-free baby again. Even if it was for like, five seconds.”

 

“Yeah, sometimes my visions aren’t _too_ much of a sensory nightmare—“

 

“LARRY!”

 

Sal nearly slid straight off the rock as a female voice sounded out of nowhere. He whipped his head around, nearly screaming in fear as he saw just where the voice was coming from. In one of the tinier tide pools, the face of a brown-haired girl rippled in its surface. Sal cowered as Larry climbed closer, smiling and waving as he finally saw her face.

 

“Oh, hey Ash.” He said. “What’s up?”

 

“Nothing crazy!” Her voice was a bit muffled, almost like she were talking into a paper bag. “Todd and I were just wondering if you and Sal wanted to go into town for lunch today. It’s our last day before classes legit start, so we just thought it’d be a nice send off for all of us.”

 

Larry thought for a bit, and flashed a thumbs up when he’d finally reached a decision. “I’m down. As long as we don’t go to The Wishbone again. I’m still traumatized from last time.” He looked towards Sal. “You feel like heading into Nockfell Borough later?”

 

Sal was a bit overwhelmed. Not with emotion, but with the sheer fact that Larry and his friends had taken to him so quickly. He’d only spent a few meals in the dining hall with them and after the first few awkward encounters, they seemed to warm right up to him. It was different from what he was used to, to say the least. Much different.

 

“Um...yeah. Definitely. I’d love to go.”

 

They heard Ash make a small noise of glee.

 

“Awesome! I’ll tell Todd. I’m trying to get Maple to come too but you know how she is. Always cooped up in the conservatory.”

 

“That’s what you get with a plant witch.” Larry chuckled. “We’ll meet you guys back up in The Commons in like an hour and we can go from there. Sound like a plan?”

 

“Yessiree!” She waved one last time. “See you guys in a few!”

 

The tidepool fizzled back into its normal, purple, flat state. Larry’s eyes met Sals again, and he couldn’t help but laugh at the shaken look in his eyes.

 

“Dude, you’ve gotta get used to that.”

 

“How? It literally scares me every fucking time.”

 

Larry slowly began to rise to his feet, gesturing for Sal to follow. “We don’t have cellphones or whatever you called them here. Mirror spells are how everyone communicates in Azumel.”

 

Sal tried his best to slip on a smaller rock. “I know but...ugh. It’s just gonna take me a while to get used to.”

 

They made their way off the jetty of rocks, lavishing in the feeling of sand on their feet again.

 

“It might be less terrifying if you carry something reflective around.” Larry gestured to the water. “Just so people don’t...oh I don’t know, pop up in your bowl of soup or whatever.”

 

 “Noted.”

 

“Dope.” Larry affirmed. “Now let's go change out of these soaking wet clothes.”

 

* * *

 

 

The train ride into Nockfell borough was long, but mesmerizing.

 

The institute was on an island, so there was really only one way in and out of campus. At the bottom of the rocky shores lay a long, stretch of train tracks, its start right at the main entrance to Nockfell and its end miles off into a glowing city on the horizon.

 

The four of them met up and made their way down to the main road, bantering about nonsensical things as they stood under a single antique-looking street lamp. Not long after Sal peered down the tracks to see a red, Victorian-era train barreling towards them. All Sal could do was follow their lead as they shuffled into the train car, flashing their student ID’s at a shadowy, faceless conductor. Sal fished his out of his pocket and took the figure’s small nod as a signal to sit down.

 

The remaining three chattered on about a myriad of things, primarily about their class schedules and whether not any of theirs overlapped. Sal kept his eyes locked on the window, watching as the train glided across the lavender mirror that was Nockfell’s ocean. Todd caught wind of his fascination, and placed a hand gently on his shoulder.

 

“It really is quite remarkable. Especially for a first-timer.”

 

Sal eyes followed a stray light post as it soared past the window. “I’ve never seen anything like this, it’s incredible, to be honest.”

 

Ash giggled. “They don’t have trains in New Jersey?”

 

“Well, none that travel over water like this.” Sal finally looked away. “Do you guys even need transportation? You can’t use like, magic to get around or whatever?”

 

Todd shook his head. “It’s not that simple. I mean, yes, you could theoretically use magic to get around, but it’s not plausible.” He answered. “It would take way too much energy, especially if you wanted to go, say, more than a few miles.”

 

“Don’t sell yourself short, Toddster.” Larry flashed a grin. “I’ve seen you pull off some pretty crazy shit before.”

 

“If you’re referring to that one time I stopped time for you to finish an essay, then yes. I would say I impressed myself that night.” Todd lowered his eyebrows. “But don’t ever ask me to do it again. Keeping up that spell for three hours nearly made me pass out.”

 

“Well, it didn’t go unappreciated.”

 

“Mhmm, sure. And what grade did you get on that essay, hmm Larry?”

 

He froze. “That’s not important.”

 

“I think it is.”

 

“Guys, quit it.” Ash interjected. “We’re almost there.”

 

The group peered back out of the window just as the shores of Nockfell Borough came into view. The immediate thought that came to Sal’s head was Greece. This definitely looked like Greece, if he was remembering his World History class correctly. Buildings of stone and wood cascaded down a sloped hillside, lit from within with the same blue flames Sal had first seen when he’d arrived. 

 

The train came to a screeching halt that nearly threw all of them off their seats; Sal’s head collided with the window and Todd fell forward onto Ash’s lap. After having a few seconds to recollect themselves, they staggered to their feet, filing in with the crowd of students already leaving the car.

 

Sal stood by Larry’s side as Todd and Ash debated which route would be the quickest to get to where they wanted to go, the whereabouts of which Sal still didn’t know. His attention turned towards the hustle and bustle going through the city, watching different creatures walk through the crowd with no hesitation. Larry seemed to catch wind of Sal’s gawking eyes, and he nudged him in his side.

 

“Dude, you can’t stare like that. Someone’s gonna pick a fight with you.”

 

Sal shook his head. Right. Larry was right; he probably looked like a lunatic staring into a crowd of people like a deer in headlights. He needed to get used to all this if he was going to spend the next four years here.

 

Todd and Ash finally came to an agreement and the other two followed their lead, trekking up wide, stone stairs and down narrow alleyways until they arrived and a shoddy looking building. The word _“Trapanrot”_ hung lowly over the wooden entrance, giving off an almost ominous vibe as they stepped through.

 

“So, what kind of food do they even serve here?” Sal hung close to the group, feeling that if he strayed too far he’d be caught in the clamor of the cafe’s interior.

 

“Oh you know, just like. Sandwiches n’ stuff.” Ash faced him as she spoke. “Y’know, it’s not like there’s nothing super special about this place.” She leaned particularly close to Todd’s ear. “And we’re _definitely_ not only here because Todd’s hot werewolf crush works here.”

 

He turned to glower at her, earning a playful snicker as he shooed her. “Oh grow up. I enjoy the food here. So what if Neil also happens to work at a cafe I like?”

 

“Uh-huh. ‘Just so happens’.” She bent her fingers in air quotes. “We ‘just so happened’ to show up when you knew he would be working. Yeah, totally not pre-meditated at all.”

 

“Ashley, I swear on my life if you don’t--”

 

“I’m teasing, Todd! Relax.” She lovingly gripped his shoulders. “I fully support your werewolf-boning endeavors.”

 

“ _Ashley!”_

 

“Teasing! Just teasing.”

 

The three of them snickered as Ash volunteered to find a table for the group. She wove off into the maze of wooden booths as they approached the counter, and Sal frowned when he saw the menu boards hanging above it.

 

Absolutely nothing was in English, and he didn’t know why he hadn’t anticipated that.

 

Had it not been for the clearly distressed look in his eyes, the two others might have never noticed his silent cry for help. Todd looked around the counter and lifted a small parchment pamphlet from its oak surface, mumbling something in Azumeli that Sal just _barely_ heard.

 

_“Ñile ūj zishtū.”_

 

Todd handed over the leaflet. “Here. This should work better for you.”

 

“Oh thank God.” Sal felt his body relax as he flipped through the menu, breathing a sigh of relief that read everything that was written. “You’re a lifesaver.”

 

He shrugged, cracking his first smirk of the afternoon. “I try my best.”

 

Not long after, the four had placed their respective orders and piled into the booth alongside Ash. The lantern above the table hung dangerously low and almost made Sal feel as if it were some sort of fire hazard. Clearly, however, those weren't really of much concern in Nockfell. Their waiter, which judging by Todd’s flustered reaction, was Neil, brought clear mugs of concerningly red liquid over to their table. He left with a polite smile that Todd smile like an idiot, and the three of them couldn’t help but laugh at the display.

 

Ash pulled a mug towards her. “Yeah, totally not here for Neil.”

 

“Ashley, just let me have this.” Todd rolled his eyes. “I’ve got eighteen hours until Advanced Alchemy, so what if I want one last self-indulgent afternoon.”

 

“Gross.” Larry removed a mug from the center of the table as well, and Sal took his cue to follow suit. “As much as I love Professor Packerton, _nothing_ could make me enjoy Alchemy.”

 

“Well, that’s probably because you don’t try.” Todd retorted, earning a scowl from Larry. “What? I’m being honest. You never practice your mage abilities. You just assume you’re not good at them because the angel ones come easier.”

 

“We’ve been over this.” Larry stirred his drink with a straw. “I’ve tried. I suck at it. So I don’t _do it.”_

“To be fair, I think Todd has a point,” Ash added. “I mean, just look a Sal. He’s only had a year to figure all this stuff out and I’d say he’s pretty good at it.”

 

Sal choked a bit on his drink at that, coughing as he spoke up. “‘Good’ is a very relative term.”

 

“Still, with no knowledge of magic and stuff, I think that’s pretty impressive.”

“Agreed.” Todd said. “Being a seer is quite mentally intensive. I’d say you’ve gotten a hold on it fairly quickly for someone in your situation.”

 

Larry did his best fake bow, boldly gesturing to Sal like a trophy. “Thank you, thank you. I know my roommate is cool as shit. Please, hold your applause.”

 

Ash tossed a crumpled napkin at him.  “Booo, get off the stage.”

 

He pouted. “You guys are no fun.”

 

“I’d say we’re all reasonably stressed for tomorrow.” Todd spoke up again. “Especially with what happened to Mrs. Sanderson last semester. Everyone’s clearly still on edge.”

 

Sal searched their faces. “....’Mrs. Sanderson’. Who’s that?”

 

The three of them looked over at him inquisitively, and suddenly Sal felt like he’d asked a dumb question.

 

“Dude, you didn’t hear about that?” Larry asked.

 

Sal shook his head. “To be fair, I’ve pretty much spent the last week exclusively with you all. So I only really know what you guys tell me.”

 

“That is fair, I suppose.” Todd took a sip of his drink. “Sanderson was a Divine Arts professor here at Nockfell.”

 

“She was really sweet.” Ash chimed in, sadness ebbing in her voice. “It’s really unfortunate that this even happened to her.”

 

“....Did..did she die?”

 

The three shook their heads.

 

“She disappeared,” Ash answered. She raised an open palm above the table and clenched it shut, the candle in the lantern above them going out in an instant. “Just like that.”

 

Sal furrowed his brows beneath his mask. “What, you mean she just vanished into thin air?”

 

“Pretty much.” Larry sat back against the seat, taking another long swig of his drink. “One day she was here, and the next she was just...gone. Without a fuckin’ trace.”

 

“Okay, I know I don’t _fully_ understand magic and spells and stuff, but there’s no way that an entire _person_ just evaporated into nothing.” Sal said. “Do you guys not have like, police or something?”

 

“No, no, we do.” Todd clarified. “They weren’t able to figure it out either.”

 

“You’re telling me there’s no...oh, I don’t know. Tracking spell anyone could’ve done to find her? This just sounds insane.”

 

“Like we said, they tried that, Sal.” Ash replied. “Even when people die they give off...energy, y’know? Like a life force. Even _that_ disappeared.”

 

Sal’s eyes went wide. “Holy shit, really?”

 

“One hundred percent.”

 

Larry scoffed. “As much as everyone loves Addison, I think he had something to do with it. Nobody’s ever even _seen_ the guy before. He’s definitely hiding something.”

 

“Here we go with the conspiracies again.” Todd rolled his eyes. “Larry, Headmaster Addison can’t leave the campus. I find it doubtful that he’d corner himself in a predicament like that.”

 

He shrugged. “Who knows, it could just be the perfect red herring.”

 

“You guys?” They turned their attention towards Sal, and he thought a bit before he spoke up again. “What is Addison, anyway?”

 

“A seraph,” Todd said. “It’s a different type of angel, except far more powerful than Larry’s kind could ever be.”

 

Larry glared at him. “Gee, thanks Todd. Love you too.”

 

“I’m just stating the facts.” He snapped back. “It’s why no one’s ever seen Addison. Most seraphs don’t even have a physical form. Or at least, not one that people like us could behold.”

 

Sal grimaced. “Wow...that’s...kind of terrifying.”

 

“He’s a nice guy.” Ash stated, looking pointedly at Larry. “And that’s _all_ there is to it.”

 

“Sure. You guys keep telling yourselves that.”

 

“And you keep telling yourself that the headmaster who literally makes his students _tea_ is out to get people.”

 

Before anyone could respond again, Neil had reappeared at the end of the table, parading around a giant metal disk on his shoulder. Steaming plates of hot sandwiches settled onto the table and Sal immediately regret his choice in an entree. It didn’t look _bad,_ perse. It did, however, appear to be moving, which was already enough to lose his approval.

 

“Thanks Neil.” Larry gave him a fist bump as he returned to the kitchen, and gave Todd a disgusted look as he gawked. “Todd, you’ve gotta be more subtle than that.”

 

For once, Todd didn’t quip back. He closed his mouth and reached carefully for a stray fork, sawing into his food as he spoke. “Is it truly that obvious?”

 

“Yes.”

 

The three responded in unison and made Todd roll his eyes at all of them. Ash was the first to break the silence with a few unhinged snickers, and not long after they were all cackling in hysterics. Todd sank down in his seat, his skin bright red as they laughed.

 

“Can’t I just eat my food in peace?”

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!! (BTW, i plan to update 302BS soon, this was just a tad easier to write atm) 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	4. Glass Walls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ZOINKS its been a minute. 
> 
> Remember when I said simeltaneously updating both this fic and my other SF fic might kill me? Surprise it kinda did. 
> 
> Lmao but I apologized for the wait. I haven't had much time to think about anything BUT school recently n I finally have a bit free time, so I'm gonna try and update both fics as much as I can. 
> 
> Anyways thanks for hanging in there and heres chp 4 lmao

Sal was adjusting to life at Nockfell. At a painfully slow rate, but he was adjusting nonetheless.

 

The food was still weird. The lack of daytime and surplus of nighttime was giving him a weird sense of jetlag. Going to bed at night and waking up  _ still  _ at night was something his brain just couldn’t get used to. He’d manage to pull himself out of bed every day, however, disoriented and sluggish as he struggled to get ready in the dark. 

 

His schedule had been completely generated by the school’s guidance counselors. Luckily, having the name “Fisher” meant he’d been assigned under Lisa, who seemed to have his best interest at heart. Sal quickly learned that magical college wasn’t so different from normal college, at least from what he could grasp. Everyone took gen-eds their first year or two and then moved onto into what they actually wanted to study. Albeit, a normal general education class at Nockfell was somewhere along the lines of Alchemy or Intro to Spellcasting, and not say, English. 

 

He was slowly beginning to piece together the rough pictures the others had been painting of the professors at Nockfell. He had Packerton for Arithmancy, and had no idea that this was basically a magical math class until showing up the first day. Her lectures were informative, but dull. Given his already disoriented internal clock, staying awake during her classes wasn’t exactly  _ easy.  _ He’d learned after the first, terribly difficult quiz that dozing off during lectures just wasn’t going to cut it. 

 

Dr. Enon was...strange. To say the least. Sal didn’t quite understand the others’ fascination with him. It was school-wide apparently, people either loved his pragmatic nature or hated his stoicism. Larry hated having him his first semester because of the enormous amount of homework he assigned, but Ash and Todd raved about his teaching style. Sal had only been taking Psychomancy for a few weeks, and he could genuinely say his impression of Dr. Enon was...nothing. Nothing at all. 

 

Which was a first. 

 

“It’s really weird.”

 

Sal sat at their regular table in the dining hall, nestled in the corner and beneath cobwebs. The flames above them hung low and cast a blue hue on every surface. He wasn’t eating like the rest of the group, he didn’t feel the need. About fifty percent of the food served at Nockfell gave Sal nausea anyway, so he didn’t feel like taking the risk with a few more classes still left in the day. 

 

“I’ve never felt that way about someone before.” 

 

Larry downed a swig of ale from his glass and looked over as he set it down. “You’ve never felt indifferent towards someone?” 

 

Sal shook his head. “That’s the point I'm trying to make, I don’t  _ feel  _ indifference. I don’t  _ feel  _ anything towards Enon.” 

 

“I don't I get it.” Ash put in, leaning onto her elbows. “How can you feel ‘nothing’?” 

 

“...I’m not sure how to explain it,” Sal said. “It’s like, the moment I became a seer, I experienced the entire world differently.” He held up his hands. “Even with my gloves on, I still get...vibes, from people. I've never been wrong when I got a bad feeling about someone. It’s not tangible though...I just sort of....feel it.” 

 

“I think I understand what you’re trying to say.” Todd finally spoke up. “It’s a state of heightened intuition. Your senses pick up on red flags that others might not see at first.” 

 

“Yeah, exactly!” Sal snapped. “And like, everyone has  _ some  _ sort of...I don’t know, energy? It’s like a fingerprint, something completely unique to that person.” 

 

Larry grinned. “Oh shit, really? What’s mine feel like?” 

 

“Probably dirty.” Larry pushed Ash’s shoulder as she giggled. “I’m kidding, relax.” 

 

“If you really wanna know, it’s calm,” Sal answered. “Maybe a little anxious at times, but mostly calm.” 

 

He shrugged. “Well, you’re not wrong.” 

 

“I know I’m not. I haven’t been for the past year.” Sal narrowed his eyes. “That’s why this is so  _ weird _ . It’s like I’m trying to read a brick wall or something. There’s  _ nothing  _ there.” 

 

“That is strange.” Todd dabbed his mouth with a stray napkin. “Although, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had some sort of barrier spell around him. I’m not sure if you know this, but Enon’s a pretty prolific figure in the magical research community. It makes sense that he’d want to hide his thoughts from the public.” 

 

“I guess so.” Sal leaned his head against the wall. “It doesn’t make me any more comfortable around him, though.” 

 

“It’s only one semester, Sal.I think you’ll be fine.” Ash said. “Unless you decide to major in Psychomancy. Then it might get weird.” 

 

He scoffed. “Yeah, right. Cause the next thing I need is to be deeper my own head. No thanks.” 

 

“It could help you understand your powers better.” Todd suggested, drawing Sal’s attention. “It’s just a thought, but your abilities are psychologically based. I wouldn’t write it off so quickly.” 

 

Sal sat back. He did have a point. He had plenty of time to think about his major, though. Plenty of time to explore whatever unimaginable subjects and classes there were to take at Nockfell. He’d have it all figured out by next year. Hopefully. 

 

“Look on the bright side. At least you don’t have Professor Gibson.” Ash’s eyes wandered down to her nearly empty bowl of soup. She lazily held her hand above the rim, a single finger bending the liquid up in small droplets. “I have her for Elemental Magic, and she already hates me.” 

 

“Oh, you should’ve known that Ash.” Larry chuckled. “She hates hybrids. I could’ve told you that.” 

 

“Okay, just because she hates  _ you  _ and  _ you  _ happen to be a hybrid doesn’t mean I deserve the same treatment.” She snapped. “I’m a good student. I turn in everything on time and I pay attention in class.” 

 

“Doesn’t matter.” He replied. “She’s probably just mad that you can control two elements.” 

 

“Oh, she is.” Ash clenched her fist, suspending the droplets above the bowl. “She flat out told me that it gives me an unfair advantage over the other students.” 

 

Sal’s eyes went wide. “For real?” 

 

“Yes, for real.” She answered. “I was dumbfounded. Like, what do you want me to do? Change my DNA? Get a formal apology from my parents?” 

 

Larry snorted. “She won’t be satisfied until she can exorcize the dragon side of you.”

 

“Please. If anything, she can have the mermaid side.” Ash said. “Do you guys know how hard it is to bathe when you can’t get completely wet? Either I take bird baths or go full sea serpent in the communal showers. It sucks.” 

 

“A small price to pay for being a cool ass snake if you ask me.” 

 

She unclenched her fist, flicking the soup droplets into Larry’s face. “I’m not a  _ snake _ , you doofus.” 

 

He flinched. “Augh-- _ sea serpent,  _ sorry.” 

 

“Thank you.”  

 

Sal had only seen brief moments of Ash using her abilities, but still marveled at them nonetheless. Her powers were unique in a way that he hadn’t seen before, even in movies or t.v. She’d done a few tricks with the flames peppering the rafters and some with glasses of water, and even those small acts of magic still sent Sal into a state of awe, he could only imagine what she could do when she was actually  _ trying.  _

 

He’d been so lost in his own thoughts that Sal barely noticed the breast pocket of Ash’s jacket, which glimmered with a dusty, purple and pink light. 

 

“...Um, Ash?” He gestured to his chest as she looked up. “I think someone’s....calling you? I don’t know if I should even call it that.” 

 

She glanced down, fumbling to fish her pocket watch out of her coat. With a metallic click, the disk clicked open.

 

_ “Ash!”  _

 

Sal recognized the voice, Maple. Although their interactions were far and few between, he’d at least been the  _ vicinity  _ of her long enough to remember what she sounded like. 

 

“Hey Maple! What’s up?” 

 

_ “Are you busy?”  _

 

Ash shook her head. “Nah, why?” 

 

“Oh, so fuck us then, huh?” Larry flinched as Todd kneed his leg. “What? Am I wrong?” 

 

“Oh, hush Larry.”

 

He huffed, but followed Todd’s request nonetheless. Ash pushed her hair over her shoulder as her attention returned to the watch. 

 

Sal could just barely make out the hazy vision in Ash’s mirror. It was cracked, meaning she definitely dropped it at some point recently. Fractured pieces of glass contorted Maple’s concerned face into a funhouse mirror, and Sal just barely made out the halo of green around her head. She was definitely in the conservatory, as usual.

 

“You were saying?” 

 

_ “If you’re not busy, I could use some help with...um...something.”  _

 

Ash raised an eyebrow. “That’s ominous. What new magical herb did you transmute this time?” 

 

_ “You see, I’d tell you, but it’d probably just be easier if you saw for yourself.”  _ Maple chuckled nervously.  _ “Also, is Todd with you? Because he’d be a huge help.”  _

 

“Present.” He spoke up. “I suppose I could come, but I do have a lecture in roughly an hour. Hopefully, we can make this brief.” 

 

_ “I promise I’ll be quick!”  _

 

“Then it shouldn’t be a problem. You’re in the conservatory, I assume?” 

 

_ “As always.”  _

 

“Well, I guess we’ll start making our way across campus.” Ash flashed a smile. “See you in twenty.”

 

_ “See you! Thanks again!” _

 

With the smallest tinkle, the shimmering light cast across Ash’s face dimmed. Her eyes looked knowingly up at them, her smile shifting into a grin. 

 

“Why do I feel like she’s up to something?” 

 

“Isn’t she always kinda ‘up to something’?” Larry asked, carelessly finishing off the rest of his drink. 

 

“Yeah, but like,  _ really,  _ up to something this time.” Ash began. “I’m nowhere near Sal’s level of intuition, but I’ll bet money that we’re about to walk into something weird.” 

 

“As much as I’d love to hold you to that bet, I gotta get to class.” Larry swung his lanky legs around the wooden bench and stood from the table, collecting his used flatware. “Time to go suffer through Spellwriting for two hours.” 

 

Ash swatted dismissively. “Spellwriting is fun! I can’t even  _ do  _ spellwork and I thought it was fun.” 

 

“Wanna trade schedules?” 

 

“You  _ wanna  _ take my class with Gibson?” 

 

Larry blanched. “Gross. Nah, nevermind. Keep your bitchy old hag of a professor. I did my time with her and I’ll die before I spend another semester in her class.” 

 

“Then why don’t you get going before you’re late again?” 

 

He raised his hands, walking back from the table as he spoke. “I’m going, I’m going. Have fun with whatever plant monster Maple created this time.” 

 

The group gave him a collective wave before his figure disappeared into the flickering crowd of the dining hall. Sal suddenly felt tense; he suddenly became painfully aware of the fact that he’d never spent time with Todd or Ash without Larry also being present. He could always make up an excuse to leave, something stupid like he had a quiz to study for or homework to catch up on. What would be the point of that, though? He’d just go hide in his dorm for two hours until his next class, which was closer to the conservatory anyway. 

 

This was fine. He’d be fine. He needed to stop clinging to Larry for social interaction anyway. Ash, Todd, and Maple (presumably) seemed pretty nice. He had nothing to worry about. 

 

Just when they’d all finished collecting their dirty dishes from their table, Todd looked to the both of them. 

 

“Sal, do you recall when you asked me about teleportation spells?” 

 

Sal blinked. “Vaguely?” 

 

“Well, I was going to say that this would be a more opportune time to use one, considering we’re not going that far,” Todd replied. “They can be a bit disorienting though, especially if you’re not used to them. I wanted to warn you before I did it.” 

 

“Believe me, after going through that gate on my first day here, I think I’ll be okay.” 

 

Todd looked from Sal’s eyes to Ash’s, ending with a small nod when he felt as though he had both their consent. 

 

“Alright then. Brace yourselves.” 

 

* * *

 

It immediately occurred to them that they should’ve stood up before teleporting.

 

The three of them landed in a patch of ivy-laced grass just outside of the conservatory. The sheer impact of landing directly on his pelvis when they’d dropped was enough to assure Sal that he’d have a bruise later. 

 

The three climbed to their feet, nursing their bumps with stretches and gentle hands. Moments after Sal brushed the clumps of dirt off his jeans, his eyes finally met the towering glass panes that made up the walls of the conservatory. Just like everything else in this world, it was truly something to marvel. Gold metal separated grid-like windows along its cubic shape, a delicate lantern dome perched at its peak. The majority of the glass was frosted, but the building was packed to the brim with greenery, some of it even poking through gaps in the panes. 

 

Cool air washed over their shoulders as they passed through the conservatory doors. It was vast and overflowing with alien-like plant-life that Sal could barely even articulate. Palm tree-like plants towered above the ground and banged against the highest point of the dome, the same ivy from outside wrapped around any surface it saw fit. He even noticed a few of those blue roses from the hedge he’d gone through on his first day. 

 

Moments like this really made him wish he’d had a camera. 

 

“Ash! Todd!” 

 

The group looked up. Maple’s grey head of hair was barely visible from the height she was at. She leaned over the balcony, waving them toward herself. “Up here! I wanna show you guys something!” 

 

The three shared a knowing look before Maple gestured again, urging them with her eyes to  _ get up there already.  _

 

Stray twigs and seeds crunched against the gravel as the trio traveled to the nearest staircase, Sal flinching when a  _ particular  _ vine shot back off the stairs the moment his shoe collided with it. Maple sat at the top of the stairs, chewing her lip nervously as they approached. She unhooked her hands from behind her back and gestured towards a particularly large pot.

 

Todd raised an eyebrow. “What are we supposed to be looking at?” 

 

“Just give me a second,” She moved closer to it. “Chug? You can come out now.” 

 

The trio shared a collective puzzled look before the slightest bit of movement in the oversized pot drew their attention. Green, ovate leaves slowly poked their way above the rim of the pot, immediately causing Sal to tense up. What was happening? Why were there so many plants in the conservatory that seemed to be alive in a  _ terrifying  _ way?

 

Their confusion only multiplied when they saw these leaves were attached to something, and that something appeared to be a scruffy, green head of hair.

 

“Guys,” Maple walked over to the pot as the the moving figure within it finally revealed itself to the world. “This is Chug. He used to be a basil plant I kept in my dorm. I had to hide him ‘cause I wasn’t sure if someone else might’ve shown up before you guys.” 

 

The figure-- _ Chug _ \--looked nervously at them, his eyes a hauntingly bright green and skin flushed with a grassy hue. Curling leaves poked out from arbitrary points in his hair and bobbed as he breathed, his gaze locked on the trio. 

 

“Uh. Hi--” 

 

“This is incredible, Maple!” Just as Chug finally decided to speak, Todd cut him off, pushing past his two companions. He got uncomfortably close to Chug’s face, examining every facet and leaf with wonder in his eyes. “This is the  _ paradigm _ advanced transmutation. How were you able to get it to maintain a humanoid form like this?” 

 

“It’s Chug.” Maple corrected, moving closer to them. “He said he wants to be called that.”

 

“He has his own free-will? Fascinating!” 

 

“I’m right here, you know.” Chug folded his arms across his chest, leaning away as Todd went to touch one of his leaves. “I may have been, y’know, inanimate when I was a plant, but I could still hear things. Us plants know a lot more than you guys think we do.” 

 

Todd chattered on about Chug, interrogating him with questions and trying his best to get close without scaring him. Sal and Ash hung back, staring in disbelief as Maple approached them. 

 

“See, this is why I wanted Todd’s help.” She said, flipping her bangs over her ear. “I’m not even sure what I did, but one spilled potion and basil plant later, I was here.” 

 

“This is wild.” Ash finally looked away from Todd and Chug. “You created a sentient being from a plant. Maple, this is  _ really _ fucking wild.” 

 

“I know.” She chuckled nervously. “I’m not sure how to reverse it, or if I even want to.” 

 

Sal looked back at Chug. “He seems...friendly.”

 

“He is! That’s the thing.” Maple said. “Like Todd said, he has free-will for some reason. I don’t know if could turn him back knowing there’s a whole person in there.” 

 

“Well, why don’t you let him live?” Sal asked. “Well, as a person, I mean.” 

 

“I’m afraid of what the administration might say.” Maple admitted. “And it’s not like I can just hide him in plain sight. He’s not a student, it might work for a few days but people would definitely catch on after a while.” 

 

“I’m sure Todd can come up with a solution in that time,” Sal said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “In the meantime, why don’t you just let him enjoy having arms and legs. I’m sure I’d be dying to try them out if I were him.” 

 

“Yeah, I agree,” Ash added. “Besides, you could just hide him in here at night. No one really comes in the conservatory after hours.” 

 

Maple pursed her lips, tossing the idea around in her head before nodding in response. “Okay, you’re right. Todd and I can definitely come up with something by then.” 

 

She turned back to face the other two, Todd still deeply enthralled in whatever Chug was chattering on about. From what they could make out, it sounded like Chug was explaining what it felt like to photosynthesize. Judging from Todd’s wide-eyed and intense stare, he was engaged with every second of it.

 

Sal cocked his head to the side, eyeing Chug up and down before looking back over at Maple. “You might wanna get him some clothes first, though.” 

 

Maple covered her mouth and Ash cackled; Sal even cracked a smile beneath his mask as she rushed over to the pot, interrupting the conversation to throw her own sweater over Chug’s bare skin. 

 

Sal had learned a few new things today, a major one being that plants could think apparently. 

The other one being that on that note, he  _ definitely _ needed to treat the succulent on his desk with a lot more love and care. 

 

* * *

 

_ Cold, damp stone bled through the back of Sal’s shirt. _

 

_ His eyes faded open, cool, misty air licked at his skin and sent chills down his spine. A blue pupil searched the thick fog around him in search of any indication as to where he was.  _

 

_ Dank.  _

 

_ The room smelled dank, reeking of mildew and wet earth.  _

 

_ He couldn’t sit up.  _

 

_ His body felt catatonic, lifeless and pinned down by the heft of his own weight. His lips were frozen shut, his prosthetic nowhere to be found. He felt bare. Exposed.  _

 

_ Scared.  _

 

_ Sal just barely gathered enough strength to force his head to the left, and muffled screams tore at his throat as he lay eyes on a single, dead raven.  _

 

_ It lay on the cobblestone perched next to his head, it’s body mangled and torn like it’d been mauled by a vicious animal. Sal felt vomit creep up in his chest as the gory sight throbbed and twitched back to life, laying a cold, glassy eye on his horrified face.  _

 

**_“You’re still here, Salvatore?”_ **

 

_ Anxious pants ripped through Sal’s fragments of a nose; tears streamed out of his eye as panic surged through his body. _

 

**_“I warned you not to stay this long, child.”_ ** _ The raven's speech was labored, heavy with the strain of injury.  _ **_“You don't want this to happen to you again, do you?”_ **

 

_ Sal finally felt the pressure of his paralysis lift. He gasped for air and looked down at his body, shrieking at the sight of his own mangled arms lifting from the concrete _ . 

 

“SAL!” 

 

Everything happened in an instant. Sal ripped his eye open. His body plummeted from mid-air and collided with the mattress with enough force to knock the wind out of his chest. He gasped, coughing and wheezing as he whipped his head around. Sal sat up against his headboard, grounding himself in reality before looking over at the voice that called him. 

 

Larry sat on his knees, eyes wide with fear. His hair hung wildly around his shoulders as he stared back at Sal, his mouth slightly agape. 

 

“Wh—“ Sal stuttered. “What just happened?” 

 

“Dude, I Should be the one asking  _ you _ that.” Larry said back. “Since when can you fucking  _ levitate?”  _

 

Sal’s eyes went wide. “Wait, what? What are you talking about?” 

 

“You were levitating above your bed.” Larry replied, moving to turn on the lantern by the nightstand. “I woke up because I heard you whining. I thought you might’ve been having a bad dream or something.” 

 

Sal’s eyes searched around the room for an explanation. Larry couldn’t have been right, he must’ve just been dreaming and those dreams had crept into real life. Sal couldn’t  _ levitate _ . He knew he couldn’t. 

“You’re joking, right?” 

 

“Are you kidding me? No, I’m not joking!” Larry snapped. “Dude, that was scary as shit. Why would I joke about something like that?” 

 

“I don’t--” Sal didn’t have an answer. “You actually saw me floating?” 

 

Larry nodded. “Absolutely. You were completely horizontal to the bed, like a corpse or something.” 

 

“That’s the best comparison you could come up with?” 

 

“Sorry, jeez!” Larry said. “I’m not super great with words in case you haven’t noticed.” 

 

“It’s fine--I’m just--” Sal swallowed. “I didn’t know I could do that.” 

 

“You didn’t?” 

 

“No. Not at all.” He finished. “I’ve had weird dreams before, but none of them resulted in....that.” 

 

“It looked like you were having a nightmare, dude.” Larry admitted, a concerned look glossing over his face. “You were thrashing and whimpering like you were tied up or something.” 

 

“Well, you’re not far off.” 

 

“...You wanna talk about it?” 

 

Sal looked away, slipping a finger beneath his prosthetic to scratch at his rough skin. “Not really, if it’s okay.” 

 

“No no, totally,” Larry assured. “We can just go back to sleep if that’s what you want.” 

 

Sal chuckled. “I don’t think it is, to be honest.” 

 

“Well...that’s cool too, I guess.” Larry shifted his way out from under his covers, pulling them completely off as he stood from the bed. “There are couple places open late on campus. if you wanna get your mind off it, we could go to The Commons and grab some food.” 

 

Sal thought for a moment. He wasn’t very hungry at all. However, the more he dwelled on the idea of going back to sleep and possibly having another carnage-filled nightmare, the more a late night snack run sounded like just what he needed. 

 

“...Yeah. Yeah, I’m down for that.” 

 

“Dope. Lemme just get my shoes on and we’ll head down.” 

 

With that, Sal followed suit, gathering the clothing he needed to not freeze to death on their way across campus. He didn’t go back to sleep that night, he was too terrified of what his mind might’ve conjured up. Despite Larry’s words of reassurance and offer to stay up with him, Sal declined. Instead, he sat on his bed with a highly-caffeinated cup of tea in one hand and his psychomancy textbook in the other. He flipped through pages aimlessly, stopping the moment he’d found the page he’d been looking for. 

 

**_“Chapter 7: Seers/Oracles; A Brief History”_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check me out on [tumblr](https://strangeneighbor-s.tumblr.com) if u wanna chat lol. Thanks for reading!! Lemme know what yall think!

**Author's Note:**

> O K A Y !
> 
> Let me know what you guys think!!! I love hearing from yall even if I don't get a chance to respond. It warms my little bi heart ;u;. Thanks for reading!!


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